Even As Angels
by sisypheandreamer
Summary: Alice & Jasper, from the beginning until the very end.
1. Chapter 1: Mary Alice Brandon

CHAPTER ONE: MARY ALICE BRANDON.

It was normal at Biloxi, Mississippi. It was a rather typical place really.

The needs of the people were simple. In the days of 1901, the people were rather content with what they had. Sure, some indulged in their guilty pleasures and threw frivolous affairs every now and then, but they were rather simple. The war had just ended and people seemed happy with what they had. Life was at its best, especially for Arthur and Cecilia Brandon. Life was good to them.

The Brandons were fairly middle-class people. They fit in to the crowd quite well, along with everyone else. They attended parties and the like, talked with people whose names were in lights, they had a good life. The young couple had everything they ever wanted, and more. They were very content people. The small family was soon blessed again, when the Brandons had a daughter. Their little angel from heaven made the young couple ecstatic; their daughter was surely something they could use to build a name for themselves in the small town. Little Mary Alice Brandon, their beautiful, normal little girl was brought into their healthy, normal little family.

Arthur and Cecilia lavished little Alice with everything that she ever needed and wanted, though somehow never spoiling her. From the time she was a few months old until she was young girl; her father always got her the loveliest little dresses and outfits, her mother attended to her every whim yet taught her moral values and the like. Alice grew up with a normal childhood; with normal, loving parents in a normal society. If only Mary Alice Brandon was a normal little girl.

Alice had always had 'good instincts', as her father always said. She always knew if the weather was going to be sunny or cloudy or rainy or otherwise, if a surprise visitor was going to come unexpectedly into their home, or something of the like. Her parents merely thought of it as really good instincts. They were too busy to notice the momentary lapses that Alice has, the concentrated look on her eyes as she gazed into nothingness, the hints that she was showing that she was anything but a normal little girl, despite her normal upbringing.

When Alice was 13 years of age, her mother became pregnant once more. They needn't bother to tell Alice, they never talked about it in front of her. As a matter of fact, only Cecilia knew of her pregnancy. Actually, she merely hunched that she was pregnant. She wasn't entirely sure but she was showing the symptoms. She was faithful to her husband of course, but she felt no need to tell him just yet of something that she wasn't exactly sure of. That was the signaling point of young Alice Brandon's life.

One fateful night, during a regular dinner, the family were sitting together and eating. It was unusually quiet at the dinner table. Cecilia was smiling and eating quite happily, Arthur was merely reading the evening paper as he ate; Alice felt that the room was too eerie and silent. If it was one thing that Alice couldn't stand, it was silence. She was an active little girl, always happy and always bubbling with hyperactive energy. As she ate, she had another one of her distant gazes into nothingness, again no one had noticed. Her parents were far too unobservant, too content with their lives to notice anything that might disrupt from their perfect, middle-class, little world. She snapped out of it rather quickly and turned to her mother.

"Mother," she said excitedly, with her quaint little soprano voice.

"Yes, love?" her mother asked.

"When is my little sister going to be here?" Alice asked trying to be indifferent in her tone although the excitement of her tone was still evident.

Arthur's head immediately jerked to face his wife, shock marked his face. Cecilia looked at Alice, stunned.

"What, dear?" she asked Alice, her voice breaking.

"My little sister…will she be long, mother? Will father name her, mother? I'm terribly excited." she said enthusiastically, still eating. She could have been talking about how good the weather was with the casualness of her tone.

"Cecilia?" Arthur asked; the anger and curiosity was evident in every syllable of just one word and name.

"Arthur, I'll explain later. Alice, dear, go to your room." Cecilia pleaded.

Alice nodded politely and went to her room, humming nonchalantly.

She was waiting for her mother to arrive, playing with her many dolls as she waited patiently, when loud shouting was heard from the dining table. A heated argument was being held and Alice could swear that she heard some of the words that she was told never to use by a proper lady, voiced out by her mother. Her father's words were indistinct and most of them she didn't understand. Alice has a deep feeling in her gut that the fight was her fault. Oh dear, oh dear.

Little Alice couldn't sleep, guilt and regret eating her insides. She hated the fact that she caused trouble in her family. She wished that she could take it all back. She tried to fight back her tears and in that battle she won't. But the feeling still ate her up inside as she forced her eyes to close and willed herself to sleep. Alice couldn't sleep that night for she had another instinct that her mother would come. Like everything else that she predicted, it would come true.

Within a few minutes, light footsteps were heard approaching her room. Another premonition entered her mind and she saw that both her parents were coming. That was bad, very bad indeed. She curled herself in her sheets and feigned sleep. The door creaked open and she closed her eyes, breathing slowly. She was a fairly good actress but her body was far too tense to be asleep, an observant person would have known that she was awake at first glance. Luckily, her parents weren't exactly observant people.

"What are we going to do Arthur? I swear there's no possible way that Alice could have known. Even I didn't know myself." said Cecilia, her tone worrisome.

"Maybe it's just her instincts again. Maybe she's wrong. We'll see the doctor tomorrow and confirm it. But she must be wrong… she has to be." whispered Arthur, Alice could feel his gaze on her.

"This isn't normal Arthur, this isn't just a phase! Something is wrong with Alice, very wrong. What if the neighbors find out?" said Cecilia, fixing Alice's sheets and brushing through her long dark hair, as if cooing her.

"We'll just wait and see. Alice is perfectly normal, you'll see." said Arthur, although his voice was not strong, his tone uneasy.

"Let's leave her to sleep. We'll discuss this in the morning." she said sleepily, yawning as she spoke.

Alice didn't go to sleep that night, too terrified of what she had just heard. "Is there something wrong with me?" she thought to herself. She was bothered the entire night, the same question burning in the insides of her head. On the outside, she was a perfectly decent young girl; she was well raised and everything… but on the inside, she was screaming. She was screaming her soul out but it seemed as though no one even bothered to turn around.

Night after sleepless night passed by afterwards, her premonitions flooding in her mind like wildfire and, being the little girl that she was, was unable to control herself from speaking her premonitions aloud. The fear that was brewing inside her parents had eventually stretched out. Cecilia was so stressed that the doctor was assuming that the baby wouldn't come out well if Cecilia kept up her state.

Alice hated the fact that she was causing her parents pain, the last thing she wanted to be was become a burden to them, to anyone, and so she tried to quiet down, trying her hardest to be normal. The one problem was that Alice was never one to be who she wasn't. Her true self always revealed itself, no matter how much Alice didn't want it to happen.

After a few months of silence inside the Brandon household, Cecilia gave birth to another little girl. Cynthia Anne Brandon was born a normal little girl, despite the trauma that the family had gone through. Mr. and Mrs. Brandon were, of course, ecstatic that they had gotten another child to show to modern society and a lovely new child who didn't show any abnormalities unlike the first, yet. Hopefully a daughter who wouldn't show any abnormalities at all. It was then that little Alice became neglected in the household.

She was often in her room, playing with her old dolls and only coming down for home schooling, dinner and baths. Her premonitions were still taking into effect and her parents hid her for a while. It was well until little Alice couldn't take it anymore and her parents were forced to take her into an asylum due to her 'erratic' behavior, including crying by herself quite loudly and banging her head against the wall with force, trying to make the visions go away so she could be with her family again; so she could be loved again. She was 18 years old when her parents took her to the asylum and Alice never saw them ever again.

The doctors in the asylum could do nothing to help her, as best that they tried. The direct order from the Brandons was to keep her in the dark and isolated from society and light until her visions came to an absolute halt. Only when her abnormalities ceased was when Cecilia and Arthur would accept her back into the house again. She was stowed in a lightless room, a small window for the food tray to go through and few air passage way. The walls were padded with soft cloth and little Alice was wrapped in a tight strait jacket.

For the first few days, she struggled to escape her prison and animal-like treatment. She screamed at the top of her lungs until she lost her voice. She kept banging her head, her whole little body on the soft walls, for some means of escape. When all hope was lost, when she knew that there was no way out, she curled into a small ball in the corner and spent her days crying in the absolute darkness of her prison. She was trapped and she could see no way out of it.

The doctors tried every possible method, feeling pity towards her, to cure her of her "disease". From hypnosis to food deprivation, they tried everything until they, too, lost all hope and just adapted to her parents' hypothesis that if she was kept in the dark with absolutely no light, her visions would stop and she could come home and be normal.

Alice's body was battered, despite the soft padding on the walls and the strait jacket, due to repetition of her self torture. Her long, raven hair was wild and it scattered around her child like face. Her eyes were always swollen and red, due to crying and after the few weeks of incessant screaming, she lost her voice.

The treatment was supposed to make Alice's premonitions stop, but despite checking in on her every few weeks… her parents never came. As it turns out, Cynthia was a gifted child who excelled in academics and was undoubtedly beautiful, making her parents go up in social ranks. Within the first few months, Alice's premonitions still continued from the smallest things like what her lunch would be or what time the surprise inspection was. If anything else, her premonitions grew stronger as time passed by.

But the darkness and continuous self-abuse did have its side effects. The longer she stayed in her lone room; she began to lose her memory. In the first few weeks, she forgot why she was inside the asylum in the first place. Within a few months, she forgot where she was. In time, she forgot everything but her name and the sole fact that she could feel and sometimes see glimpses of the future.

Alice had a very persistent doctor. Doctor Paul Evans. Dr. Evans was always patient with Alice, although the asylum needed to pursue the direct order of her parents, had meetings with her in her room. She couldn't see him much but he was the only person she talked to in the asylum. She felt alone and hopeless in the place and she treated her doctor like he was her only friend.

Time kept passing by. More and more of Alice's memories were dropping and her premonitions only seemed to be getting stronger. The treatment wasn't working. To Doctor Evans' surprise, not once in all of the years that Alice has been in the asylum, has anyone in her family come to visit her. He was the only doctor who was working on her case and some of them didn't even know who she was. She was just another patient and some of the nurses thought that the room she stayed in was empty.

Alice spent most of her time in her room crying silently and she cried herself to sleep basically every night.

But there was one day in her entire life that changed her existence forever.

Since none of the Brandons seemed to care for her and since Doctor Evans grew quite attached to Alice, he took her out one day. She had forgotten how old she was but the year was 1920 and she was 19 years old that day. He snuck her out of the asylum and took her out into the streets. She hadn't seen the sun in so long and she was looking forward to seeing the sun but she knew that it was going to be unusually cloudy in Mississippi. He took her out to see boutiques filled with clothes, hats, shoes and so many other things. Alice was overwhelmed. When the day had finished, she was sad that it was over. It was the best day that she could remember which wasn't really saying much because she couldn't remember a thing. But she felt positive that she had never felt this… accepted before. But all good things must come to an end.

When she and the doctor were just about to head back to the asylum as it was getting pretty late outside, Alice felt him stiffen next to her. He froze a little and she was baffled.

"Why did we stop, sir?" she asked, her voice high and weak.

"Stay very still, Alice. I'm so very sorry, my dear. I shouldn't have brought you out." He said coldly and smoothly, leaving her more confused than she had ever been but she did as he asked.

Then, through the ragged hair that still covered her face, due to the fact that it was near impossible to fix, she still saw them. In the moonlight, she saw the pale white faces of two creatures. One of them had blond hair that was tied into a small ponytail and his attire was purely male and so she hedged a guess that it was a man and the other person had long, uncontrolled yet beautiful bright red hair. A man and a woman; but it wasn't their sudden appearance that startled her. It was their impossibly beautiful faces that made her really notice and it took her a few moments to realize that they could have been related to Doctor Evans. She looked up to face the Doctor, to ask why they had stopped, but he was already cradled and in arms and she could feel the intense speed beneath her.

She was being carried and Doctor Evans was running. The speed was so fast that it startled her, making her cower into his shoulder. She had no idea on what was going on. Her eyes were closed as she whimpered in fear. It was a few seconds before he put her down with frightening speed and pulled her into a small abandoned cabin in a forest. She was so confused. Doctor Evans never let go of her hand, even as he knelt down in front of her so that she could see him clearly.

"Alice, listen to me. I'm so very sorry for this. Take care, alright?" he told her, holding up a finger. His breath was heavy and uneven; Alice felt even more scared than before. "Whatever happens, never forget who you are. You are special. You are Alice and you will always be my little girl. I'm sorry." He added, stroking her small face as he spoke and kissed her forehead. Alice was speechless; she didn't know what else to say. She was confused, petrified, and overwhelmed all at the same time. The next thing she knew was the Doctor Evans had come nearer to her and she felt his cold breath on her shoulder as he held her by the arms with his hands. The next thing she knew was pain.

Unbelievable and unbearable pain.

Her eyes widened in fear and terror, as she felt herself drop to the floor. She felt fire; there was fire on the veins of her neck. The pain was too much and she cried. She screamed but her eyes never closed. She couldn't see anything though; everything was too dark to see. But she could hear and smell through her bloodcurdling screams the fracas that was going on while she shook in pain. There was the sound of breaking wood and glass and the sound of someone screaming her name, the scent of burning wood and flesh in the air. Then everything stopped. She could feel nothing; she could hear nothing but the birds in the air that flew about and the soft breezes that fluttered about the forest. Everything became peaceful after that, everything except for the screams that she did. After a few hours, she didn't know what was happening. After a day, she didn't know what pain was. After the transformation, she only knew two things. Her name was Alice and she could see the future.

**A/N:** I wrote this around two years ago on a different account. I then got seriously annoyed with the twilight series but I've always loved Alice and Jasper regardless. So I've edited my story and now I'm reposting it. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Twilight series. Ew. I don't even like the series. I just adore Jasper and Alice. I don't own them either.


	2. Chapter 2: Newly Awakened

CHAPTER 2: NEWLY AWAKENED

After her transformation, Alice woke up in a start. Her back jolted and her eyes opened to her new beginning. The room was a complete blur at first but then a vision entered her mind, leaving the cabin in which she woke up in unnoticed. The vision was of a man. A beautiful man with pale white skin, skin covered with hundreds upon hundreds of scars that looked like… bite marks and honey blond hair and even though she didn't know why, she felt oddly drawn to him. The vision was quite solid and it was solidifying with every second that passed. She made herself stop looking, although unwilling, to see what was in front of her. She was dressed in a plain white dress and she wore no shoes. She stood up to observe herself. There was a mirror just at the edge of the cabin and she took a look. Her hair looked impossible, it flowed all the way to her waist and there wasn't a straight thing about it. It was tangled everywhere. She tried to straighten it out with her fingers but it was impossible because it was so long and it was far too tangled with itself.

Her dress was dirty and it was filled with holes, dirt and dust… there was something else in her dress… something red.

Blood.

She was disgusted by what she was wearing. Her face was pale white, as pale as the beautiful man that she saw in her head, and her eyes were a sparkling red. Like molten rubies. Her eyes frightened her a bit as she tried to remember what happened to her. She looked around and saw that the cabin was a complete mess. There were signs of a struggle, some kind of fracas that she couldn't remember. She tried to rack her head for memories but she couldn't find any, all she could remember was darkness. It was as though she was born, right then and there. Besides everything else, she noticed a pain in her throat. A remarkable burn in her throat that shocked her as to how she could have ignored it for so long; she was thirsty.

Alice was confused and thirsty; she didn't know what was going on. She then took a breath instinctively and she caught the scent of everything in the cabin and even across the forestry. There were dust motes everywhere, the scent of pine was fresh in the air, but there was one scent that ruled them all. There was a scent that was so strong, so unbelievably forceful and irresistible, Alice was lulled to it. Her breathing was heavy and steady as she hunted down the alluring scent. She was running swiftly and lightly but it was as though she felt no ground beneath her.

It was then when another vision entered her mind that made her stop moving. Her vision was different that time, it wasn't of the unknown beautiful blond stranger, and it was of different people. There was a man, a blond man with gold colored eyes. He was surrounded by a group of other people. There was a woman beside him, a woman with long, caramel-colored hair. She looked kind and endearing, motherly even. Next to them was a lone figure with bronze hair and an expression of determination and some kind of inner pain. Behind the three of them were two others, a big, burly haired man who was about the size of a bear and beside him was a blond woman who possessed impeccable beauty, as if her face was stolen from sweet angels. They were moving… running, like she was only moments ago. Only she saw them going after something completely different, something not as pulling. They were going after a group of carnivorous beasts and she saw their teeth break through the skin and wiped them completely of blood. They seemed satiated afterwards and quite able, their eyes a smoldering liquid gold, much more inviting than the intimidating red tone that her eyes had. Her vision ended and Alice, again, seemed oddly drawn to the family that she saw in her head. Not as pulling as the man was, but it pulled her nonetheless.

She stopped running and going after the irresistible scent, finding it quite difficult to stop but the distraction of the family was quite helpful to her evasiveness. The burn in her throat did not cease and so she ran, going after whatever she could find that was similar to the ones that the family went after. Soon enough, she found herself well satiated with a herd of deer and elk. They did not smell as good as the ones that she previously smelled but it tamed the aching burn in her throat somehow. It was only when the distracting burn was extinguished when she noticed everything else. The moon was whole and pale above her as the twinkling stars decorated the nighttime sky. Alice found herself walking, still energetic as she went feeling strangely hopeful.

Not long after, she found herself in a quaint little village. The village was dark and hardly any lights were on. The village was filled with the perfume of blood in the air but Alice was strong enough to resist, her visions still solid in her head. She found a small house that was occupied by a man and a woman. They were both sleeping. She snuck inside the house and looked around. It was big enough for a family but she could smell that it only held two people. She went to where the couple was sleeping and saw them there, the scent of their blood was almost too strong what with her being in their proximity, but she managed not to be swooned by temptation. She moved swiftly and quietly as she went to the mirror. Even in the darkness, the moonlight still shone through. Her hair was still the impossible mess that it had been when she first awoke.

She quietly looked around for a sharp object so as to tame her wild and unruly hair. There was a pair of scissors inside the dresser that was near the mirror. Alice cut her hair to shoulder length and found it much easier to calm it down when it was shortened. After a few minutes, there wasn't a single tangle in her hair. Instead, she combed it so as to none of it covered her face but they swayed to the side of her head like spikes. She liked it. She then looked around the room to find the woman's closet. Alice took almost all of the clothes inside and found a bag nearby so as to stash the clothes that she took. She also took the scissors, just in case. She left the house silently and undetected.

She ran back to the cabin where she first woke and observed the things that she got. She tried some of them on and they were a little bit too big but, thanks to the scissors, Alice found a way to make them fit. She then looked at the mirror to find that, despite the fact that the shoes that she got from the woman were a bit too big and there was no possible way that Alice could make them fit with scissors, she looked presentable. She poked around some of the other things that the woman had and saw that there were a few paper bills inside one of the pockets in one of the bags that Alice took. She pocketed the bills and she looked out the window to observe her surroundings again. The sun was almost rising from the east and sent its rays through the windows. It touched her ivory skin and Alice was confounded with what it did to her skin. Her hand sparkled in the daylight; it looked like the faucets of a million diamonds.

What it could have meant, Alice didn't know nor did she care. Her thoughts were occupied by something else. She thought about the visions that she had: the beautiful blond man and the family, and why they were so pulling. Alice didn't know what else to do, but somehow, deep inside of herself, she knew she had to find them. She had to be with them. It was the only valid reason that she could tell herself. Why else would she have the visions if she didn't belong with them? She decided, in that moment, what she was to do. She was going to look for them; the both of them, and in that instant, the visions in her mind were as solid as stone. She had nothing and no one else but her visions. She couldn't explain it properly but she will find them. She had to.

She made herself think, to see what things could help her find the people she was looking for. There were flashes, brief flashes of light that made her a little dizzy. She didn't even know how her visions worked. There were times when Alice saw herself in shadows, walking about with her bags at hand. Most of the time, she would see the blond man again and Alice would make herself see where he was, for some clue as to where to find him. She went on the move, determined to find him. She could see that it would cause her unnecessary attention if she were to walk in broad daylight. She could see that she had to stay in the shadows for as long as necessary.

She was learning more and more about herself as time went on. She realized that she could see things that were going to happen, the possibilities: weather, for example. She could see when she needed to stay hidden and she could see when she could stay in the open. Then again, if she stayed in the open her clothes would get wet and she felt protective over them. She learned that she was quite skilled at taking other people's possessions without getting caught, so as to make her existence a little easier. Small bills from different people, sometimes a larger amount if she could see that the person wouldn't suffer so much with the small loss; over time, Alice existed peacefully, in solitude and alone, never giving up the hope that she would find the one person she knew she was destined to find.

Every hour of every day and of every night, Alice concentrated on the man's whereabouts. She began learning things about the man too. He was named Jasper and the expression in his eyes looked so… defeated, anguished. Jasper looked like he hated his existence, like he hated everything he saw, like all the hope inside himself drowned or had been overshadowed with despair. Alice's heart broke at his expressions which made her even more determined to find him, her hope was the one thing that couldn't break. She will find him. She had to.

Her journey was steady for a long time, her goal never changing. Whenever she saw Jasper in her head, she would head out for the place on where she saw him. She would ask people if they've seen him but they never knew anything. They were all too blind to notice his beauty anywhere. She also saw that it was quite fitting to be in the midst of these kinds of people, the kind of people who regarded her as something special. She didn't know why but she could hear what people were saying about her. Calling her 'pretty' or something of that sort; she couldn't understand it very much. She had better eyesight than the rest of the other simple people but she didn't see herself as a beauty. It must have just been her eyes.

She looked for him for years, almost always a little too late. She never gave up hope though; she would wait a hundred years if it meant that she would find him in the end. She could see that he was looking for her as well; looking for something that he couldn't quite understand, but she knew what he was looking for. She had the advantage of knowing. She kept trying to concentrate on where he was at the present so she could run off to meet him.

When she couldn't run off to see him because it was sunny, she would try to learn more about herself. She would read countless books that made her see what she was. The pale white skin, the blood drinking (although her food source was a tad bit different from the ones written in the books), the immortality, and the fact that she didn't age; everything fit into place. She found out that she was a vampire through the books that she took the time to read; actually she guessed that she was a vampire since there seemed to be no other logical explanation. Since she didn't remember anything about her human life, she saw no wrong in being an immortal and found no memories to make her miss being mortal. She had no memory to turn to, she had nothing to miss. All she knew that if her past was a problem, it was her future that could solve it.

Out of everything else, there was one thing that Alice never ran out on. She never ran out of nor did she ever give up on her hope. She knew she would find what she was looking for eventually, even if she didn't know how or when she would find them. If a gloomy or hopeless thought somehow entered her mind, she would instantly shake it off. Alice couldn't do that to herself nor to the people she could see in her head. She could see that he was looking for her, that he needed her, and only Alice knew it so. She knew that the family that she saw in her mind needed her as well but, just like Jasper, they didn't know it. Only she did. If she gave up hope, where else would she go? Who else could she turn to? Alice had nothing and no one. All she had was her hope and she had nothing else.

If she had nothing at all, then she had nothing to lose.

Alice was determined and she kept thinking positive thoughts about her outcome. She was going to see them, all of them, soon. She was going to find them. She could see it in her head, there was no way to doubt it.

All that was left now was to wait. She couldn't care less on how long she had to wait. She'd wait a lifetime if it meant she'd finally meet them. Sometimes the waiting made all the difference.


	3. Chapter 3: Once Upon A Dream

CHAPTER 3: ONCE UPON A DREAM

Alice didn't know how long she'd been searching. Time was nothing to her, it was something that she could waste and neglect. She was immortal after all, apparently seeing as that she wasn't exactly sure on what she was and that she only guessed that she was an immortal vampire. What was a day? A month? A year? Years, even? She had been waiting a little over ten years, and one would think she should have just given up. Some, who she would tell of her stories, would tell her to just leave her search and get on with her life because she was never going to find the people she was looking for. They were all wrong, they had to be wrong. She couldn't let herself be submerged in their words. She couldn't nor would she ever give in to their pessimistic hopelessness. She kept on looking.

Jasper was constantly on the move, never staying anywhere for more than a few nights. He strayed away from Peter and Charlotte after a few years, becoming weary and depressed as time passed. Peter and Charlotte were happy and content. He had to live with all the warmth they possessed, somehow making his depression sink even deeper into his core. The emotions that were emanating from them both made him bitter and it made him feel alone, no matter what the two said to him. That he wasn't alone and that he had them. They were wrong, of course. Jasper felt alone and he knew that he was. He reveled in his lonesome, looking at all the people and feeling their emotions. How he hated them and their happiness. He was bitter beyond belief, wanting something he couldn't even explain. He thought he was going crazy.

It was only a matter of time that he wandered away from Peter and Charlotte. He couldn't bear their togetherness much longer. The depth and look in their eyes when they looked at each other was too much for him to take in. Jasper felt himself sink into deeper depression. He was more alone than he had ever been in his existence. Then again, being alone made him think. All the time that he was existing, he had no one and yet… he had everyone. He had everyone under his charismatic spell but he held no one as his own. He had spent his whole existence surrounded by others, and yet, in his lonesome, he discovered that he had spent his whole existence alone.

What was he doing and where he was going, he didn't know. He had no sense of purposefulness; he felt nothing holding him to the earth anymore. He was nothing and he knew it well.

Alice could see all of it, everywhere that he went and everywhere he thought about going to if he decided he wanted to go there, only to change his mind at the next minute. To see his blank eyes and the icy expression marked on his face was heartbreaking. She couldn't bear to see him like this, to have no clue on what he was to do. He had nothing to believe in. His depression only made her even more determined than ever to find him.

She went to every place that she saw him at. From Massachusetts, to Delaware, to California, and all the way to Houston, Texas. Nothing, still. But the mere fact that she knew he went there was enough. At every location, she caught of a peculiar scent. A scent so strange and alluring she knew it was his. It became stronger over time and it became very distinct. She was getting closer, she could feel it. The vision in her mind of them meeting was solidifying by the second. Each passing moment, she was getting closer.

It was when she got a vision of him entering a diner in Philadelphia. It was very clear and distinct; it was almost as solid as her first vision of him and the family she was supposed to find next. It made her optimistic. Maybe she was finally going to meet him, after all the years of waiting for him. She rushed off, stopping for nothing, all the way to Philadelphia. She was going to meet him, she told herself repeatedly, like she always did. She kept herself optimistic.

She reached the diner eventually, only to find out that there was no scent of him in there. He hadn't entered yet, he wasn't there yet, but he was going to be there. Alice found herself more hopeful than she had ever been before. She took a seat on the high stool, and just sat there, staring out at the door waiting for him to enter

"Anything for you, love?" asked the kind waitress.

Alice turned her head at the woman who was talking to her. She was young and she was pretty. Alice smiled at her and ordered a coffee out of courtesy. She was going to be waiting for a long time, a few days at the most. She marveled at that fact. Just a few more days and they would meet. What were a few days when she had been waiting for years? As she waited, she began to fantasize. What would she do? What would she say? Would he like her? Would he ask her to go away and leave him alone because she was annoying him? No, nothing like that. But still, it made Alice just a little worried. She started daydreaming on what he would say back, on what he might do, what he might say, the tone of his voice, what he smelled like, what his hair felt like, everything. It took up time as she just swirled her untouched coffee with a small spoon.

People went in and out of the diner and eventually, Alice left as well. Only because they were closing. When they were closed, she went out to see the neighborhood for the slim chance that she might bump into him. She explored the boutique windows, for even in the darkness, she could see the things that were displayed in the windows. It was only then that she realized that she had neglected her clothes back at the previous residence where she stayed at and she didn't bring them to Philadelphia. She didn't have any clothes, just the money that she kept in her pockets.

After her realization, she went looking for stores immediately. A few blocks from where the diner was, was a small neglected boutique that no one seemed to notice… even in broad daylight. The clothes on the racks were vintage, as though they were from the early 1900s. No one seemed to touch them because everyone was too caught up in what were the current fashions of the world. Alice thought they were just lovely. The little dresses, shirts, skirts and doll shoes. It called out to her but as she looked at the bills that she had, she only had enough for a few more coffees at the diner for a least a few days, two weeks at the most. There weren't a lot of rich folk in Philadelphia, not a lot of people who would mind missing a couple of bills or coins for they all seemed to cherish every piece of money that they had. And so she just went into the store without permission, one lonely night. No one seemed to want them anyway.

Alice broke into the store easily, having done it numerous times before. She played a little dress up inside the store and tried some things on until she saw that daybreak almost hit and the owner was almost there. She took some of the clothes and put them on, some of them she put into a bag that was also in the store. With some scissors and a small, do-it-yourself sewing kit nearby, she managed to make everything authentic and original. Bless her vampiric speed. She went out of the store undetected and supplied with a new stock of clothes.

The moment that she saw the diner open, she darted off to go inside. She was greeted a warm hello and good morning by the friendly waitress. It was still as half empty as it was before. Some grown men in business coats, looking important with their briefcases and newspapers, talking about the economy, stocks, and lots of other unimportant things that Alice didn't care about. There were some teenagers who were grouped amongst themselves, talking about some high school dance that was coming up in a few days time. Just a few people. Alice didn't care about any of them.

Instead, she merely took another coffee and continued staring at the door, waiting for him to burst through it. It was sunny outside and it was going to be sunny for a few more days. Alice remembered that it was drizzling a bit in her vision when he enters the diner. But she couldn't make herself leave, with the possibility that she was going to see him there. That day, he didn't come. Alice left the diner again at closing time, not touching any of the food that she ordered but she paid for them full price. The waitress was beginning to eye her suspiciously. The second night, Alice took a look around the town.

It was a small little town with a few homes and families resided in them. There was a small shopping mall in the town, unlike all of the other towns that she went to. There was also a little motel nearby a local beach, which was also in the town. That was nice, the town was small but it was compact.

Alice found herself wandering around the beach at around midnight. It was empty and the waves were gentle as they touched the sand lightly. There was a small spot which was a little far from the town. It had lots of large rocks and the white sand was still visible what with the luminous moonlight shining down on it. Alice sat down at one of the largest rocks and looked out into the open sea. She contemplated on the future she knew that was going to happen. What would happen after she met him? She guessed that she would tell him about the family and that they were going to be with the family. She couldn't see anything else but she had a feeling that there was something more than just meeting him. There had to be.

The strange pull that the man who Alice had never met before. Why did she have to find him, after just one vision? Why the pull? What was so important about him that made Alice need to find him? These were the things that Alice thought about as she sat on the large rock. She couldn't make herself question or regret everything that she had done. She knew there was something far greater than just having to find the family and Jasper. But what? Maybe there was some connection between her and her past? She found it impossible. She would have remembered him, she just knew it.

The days went on like that. Alice spending all day in the diner, ordering food that she wouldn't touch then at night, she would go back to the same spot at the beach to look up at the sky to clear her mind and think. But one night, Alice had a vision that made her even more ecstatic than usual. It was going to rain the next day.

Alice arrived at the diner before it even opened, too excited to wait.

"Easy down, now sugar. What did you do? Sleep out here until it opened up the joint? Don't you have somewhere to be?" asked the waitress as she opened the doors to the diner.

"Not really." Alice said, smiling.

"Looks like rain today, let's get you inside."

Alice stayed at her now usual spot. The high stool. The waitress gave her the coffee that she knew Alice wouldn't touch and Alice just looked at the door again, waiting for him to arrive still.

"You know dear, you've been in this diner for days now. Should your parents be worried?" asked the waitress, seeing that the usual people weren't there yet.

"No. I'm just waiting for someone." Said Alice cheerfully, turning to the waitress. Her question did raise some curiosity in Alice, though. Parents. Did she have any of those? Were they worried about her? She set aside the thought, telling herself that she mustn't be distracted. She was making bacon, eggs and some pancakes.

"Is this someone a boy, dear?" asked the waitress.

"Yes." She said, although the word boy probably wasn't the right description for the man that Alice saw and has been seeing in her head.

"Well if you've been waiting this long, honey, I'm telling you now. He's not worth the wait. Pretty little thing like you shouldn't be stood up like this." Said the waitress, still cooking and not looking at Alice.

"I'm persistent. He'll come." Said Alice brightly, knowing that he had every reason to be late. He didn't even know she was waiting for him.

The waitress didn't talk to her again and just left her to her own devices. The people slowly started to come inside, the usual crowd again. Every time that she would hear the bell ring from the door, she would turn to it immediately to see if it was him, finally. She wasn't disappointed whenever she saw that it wasn't him. She thought of things optimistically. Each one of them that come in meant that he might be next. Alice held on to that thought very strongly.

The sky was looking gloomy and dark, not depicting Alice's mood. She was as bright and happy as usual. Each passing second, she grew even more hopeful. He would come, she told herself, and he would come.

The hours passed on and it actually started to drizzle. Alice amused herself by stirring her coffee like she actually cared about it. The aroma of it was good, freshly brewed and it was black, liquid velvet. All was quiet, except for the continuously rotating ceiling fan, the sizzling of the eggs and bacon, the soft tinkering sound that her spoon made as it touched the cup, all until the bell rang.

And there he was.

Alice couldn't help but grin. He was there, he was real, and she'd proven them all wrong. So many different emotions flooded through her, all synonymous to happiness and contentment. Her hope was not wasted. He was glorious. Her visions had not done him justice. It was as though perfection would be an insult to him. He was the epitome of perfection and everything good in the world. Alice's eyed widened her grin couldn't be wiped from her lips.

She walked up to him eagerly, smiling up at him. She couldn't believe her eyes. After years and years of searching and waiting, he was there. Alice was ecstatic, more ecstatic than she had ever been in her entire existence.

"You've kept me waiting a long time." She said happily, no anger or anything of that nature in her tone. She seemed to have surprised him.

"I'm sorry ma'am." He said while ducking his head like a good Southern gentleman with a matching southern accent that made Alice's insides swirl.

Alice held out her hand to him and he took it without stopping. She led him out, not knowing where to go and not caring of where she was going. All she knew was that he was there, with her, holding her hand. She felt complete.


	4. Chapter 4: Finally

CHAPTER FOUR: FINALLY

They went out of the diner peacefully while the clouds signaled a storm coming. The ominous gray clouds were incontrovertible and one really didn't need to be psychic to see a thunder storm coming.

But Alice didn't care. She didn't care about anything anymore except for the man who was holding her hand beside her. She looked up to catch a glimpse of his face and he looked confused, as though he didn't know what he was doing or who he was with. Then again, he didn't know who she was or what he was doing in the first place. As they were walking, she held his hand in hers and he held her hand in his. Somehow, Jasper didn't want to let go; so many emotions that were emanating from her, emotions that he never felt before for the longest time. And there was also only emotion that was coursing deep inside of him, an emotion he had never felt before.

"Miss?" he choked out finally, holding her to a stop seeing that she took the lead. "Where are we going?" Alice laughed.

"I don't know." She said happily, practically skipping. It was then when something snapped back to him that he had apparently neglected. Jasper stopped her again and she was confused, but a short vision in her head made her smile again. It seemed as though her Southern gentleman momentarily forgot his manners.

He lifted her hand to his lips and he kissed the top of her hand. Alice giggled and bit her lip, but the smile still pushed through. He almost did as well. Almost. Strange.

"Forgive me; I've forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Jasper--"

"Whitlock. I know." Alice cut him off and continued, still grinning. His eyes widened in confusion and curiosity. He had never met anyone quite like her, or someone anywhere near as close. "My name is Alice." She continued.

"Does that come with a last name?" he asked.

"No. I'll explain everything later, I promise." She said sincerely. Her eyes had such innocence, such truth, that he could feel as if his soul was melting, he had no other option but to believe her and obey. He couldn't deny her in anything. He didn't want to.

They walked in silence, their hands still intertwined. The storm was going to hit over the town momentarily and it was already beginning to darken. The sun was setting and the pale moon was shown through the mess of rain clouds. Alice could see that it was going to be quite a storm, but she didn't care. A little water never hurt anyone. Jasper didn't speak, nor did he look at anything else but her. Her dainty little steps were so graceful, and she never stopped smiling. He had never been around anyone so happy before, she was even happier than Peter or Charlotte… or the two of them combined. He couldn't explain how or why it was happening, but suddenly felt lighter. From the first moment that he saw her from that diner. He felt… happy. For the first time, in almost a century, he felt hope.

He kept his eyes on her; he wasn't even paying attention to where he was going. All he could look at was her face. Alice tried hard not to look back at him; she needed a quiet place so they could talk sensibly for the first time. A quiet little place where she thought the both of them could think properly. She thought of nothing else but the beach. The small, rocky little spot that she always went to when nightfall hit. It was already dark and the rain clouds had nothing to do with it. The sun has gone off and the only light was the moon, its ray beaming through the rain clouds. It was already drizzling.

Alice dragged Jasper off to the beach, he obliged of course. They were out in the open and it was raining. He pulled her to a stop and she looked at him in confusion.

"Something wrong?" she asked him innocently. The edge of his lips twitched to the side as he took off his jacket and used it as some kind of umbrella to hover over her. The confusion in her expression suddenly turned to the smile she wore.

"I don't want you to get wet." He said serenely. His arms held up the jacket like some sort of roof above her head.

"It's okay; it's going to be dry for a while where we're going." She said, standing just a little closer because she wasn't holding on to him anymore.

She walked slowly and he followed pace. He wasn't impatient nor did he ask questions. She promised that she would explain and he trusted her already. There was no doubting that angelic face. The drizzle was slowly descending into rain, so she walked faster and he matched his speed with hers. Soon enough, she was running. And she was thrilled that he was running alongside her. They managed to reach the rocky spot soon enough, and just like she had predicted, it was dry. Well… as dry as any part of a sandy beach was.

"It will be dry for a few minutes, half an hour at the most." She said as she walked to the biggest rock.

Jasper lowered his arms and put the jacket on top of her shoulders. He knew she was immortal too, but he couldn't be impolite to a female. Alice beamed up at him again, breathing in the scent of the jacket. It smelled heavenly, just like him. She sat down on the sand and rested her back against the rock. Jasper followed suit. The waves were gently crashing against the sand and the tide almost reached them. A few minutes more and it would have caught up to them. The sky was clear above them but the rain clouds from the town weren't that far away. From the looks of things, Alice was going to be right.

They were still and quiet for a moment. Alice was staring out into the distance, watching the waves from afar. But Jasper couldn't help but look at everything else. The sky was black velvet and it was painted with stars. The moonlight that shone above them had its beauty and splendor. But the sparkle of all these things couldn't compare to the small girl who was where she was. In the moonlight, Jasper thought that Alice's hair shone like the stars above but it was so much more than beautiful and her eyes twinkled like a million diamonds, only diamonds could have been an insult for her eyes… there weren't words to describe her eyes. They were different. Like liquid gold. Jasper couldn't resist her beauty; it was intoxicating.

Alice, however, had never felt so complete. So safe, protected and wanted. When she first saw him, she had an irrevocable fear that he would want to push her away. But he didn't, he stayed. He was there, right next to her. She tilted her head to look at him, only to see his eyes staring right back into her own. Black velvet, just like the sky above their heads, but his irises had some tint of red. Like dripping rubies. And his hair was as gold as the rising sun, only much more glorious. Her visions had not done him justice. He was too perfect for words.

They stared at each other for the longest time, both of them speechless, taking in each others' inert perfection. Alice was the first to break the silence.

"Hi." was all she could say. She was in too much awe to make out a decent sentence. This was why she couldn't look away for so long. She needed to keep her focus so she could marvel in his presence when they were both alone.

"Hello." He replied. That was awkward. "Is it later yet?"

"Oh. Right." It was silent for a while longer. It was then that she spoke again.

"I woke up, to this life, a few years ago." She started, trying hard not to get distracted again. He looked at her wordlessly, giving her the chance to continue. "I was alone in a dusty old cabin in the woods. And the moment I woke up, I saw you; in my head, at least. It was so clear. Even from that moment, some part of me just knew that I had to find you." There was a pause.

"How? How did you see me?" he asked.

"I didn't know, before. But now it seems clear. I can see things that haven't happened yet. The future. But… sometimes things change. I can't explain it correctly. But things like the weather are easy." She replied.

"And then?" he asked, letting her continue with her explanation.

"Well… There was this fire in my throat I couldn't explain. It was unbearable. And the next thing I know, I was running. Running towards some scent that appealed my senses. It was impossible to stop. But then I got sidetracked by a vision in my head… I saw a family of people like us. Except I saw what they were doing and they weren't going after the same thing that I was going for. It was so strong and so solid, almost as strong as my vision of you, so I knew I had to find them too. But part of me needed to find you first. So I stopped running after... whatever I was running toward and went for something that the family was going after. They're called the Cullens. There are five of them. Carlisle, the leader with his mate, Esmé. Then there's Rosalie and Emmett. Lastly, there's Edward." Another pause.

"What were they going after, exactly?" Jasper asked, intrigued.

"Animals. Deer, elk… The one named Emmett seems to really like bears." Jasper's eyes widened. Could such an existence… exist? Was there a way to live without killing humans? It had to be true. He couldn't question her if she was telling the truth or not. Because he knew she was good and he could feel her sincerity. Alice took hold of his silence and went on with her story.

"So I set off, following my visions. Where I saw you, I would try to look around where you were and I would run off after it. I've been looking for years. You have no idea how relieved I was when you walked into that diner. I thought you were never going to show up." She chuckled. It was true, in some ways, but she was much, so much more than relieved.

"How long?" he asked, feeling ashamed of himself. Despite the fact that he met her only moments ago, he felt as though he let her down. How could he let something as pure, good, sweet and innocent as her waiting for so long? And he thought he was a gentleman.

"A few years." She admitted sheepishly. "I don't mind the waiting, really. I would have waited an eternity." Jasper felt himself smile at her words. It was just a small smile, more like a line with a little curve. But it was the closest thing that he had to a smile in almost a century.

"I'm sorry." He said, apologizing for making her wait.

"It's alright. You can make up for it by talking. I only know the future, not the past. Tell me something about yourself." She encouraged him.

"What do you want to know?" he asked. It was quite a broad selection.

"Anything." Everything. Absolutely everything about him.

"Well that's not fair," he said, his small smile turning into a smirk. Smirking, he's done a lot of. "You seem to know a lot about me, yet I know very little about you."

Alice laughed, her voice sounded like bells. But to Jasper, it sounded like an angel's choir, her high soprano was the tone of one who could make an angel, every angel in heaven, green with envy.

"There's not much to tell, really." She admitted. "I don't remember anything before I woke up to this."

"Nothing?" he asked again. She shook her head.

"Nothing."

How anyone could leave Alice, Jasper couldn't figure out. He could barely find it in himself to look away from the girl, let alone leave her. The emotions that coursed through him were indescribable. He felt as though he was changing. The hate and anger that he grown accustomed to, even during the wars when he was human seemed to fade away. He learned from his solitude, it gave him time to reflect on everything that was and how far from life he had come. He knew he was close to giving up on his existence. The existence was torture, something to weigh on him for eternity. But then again, he saw it as punishment for the violent life that he chose to live when he was both human and immortal. He killed, and with each person that he killed, he lost his humanity. He felt as though he had become a monster of the grizzliest kind. But all of it was changing the moment he met her.

When she reached out to him, all he could feel was the tangible hope that she brought with her. Like she had been the balm on the wounds that inflicted him over the past century. Her emotions brought such relief from the depression that he felt. All he could do was stare at her. From what she told him, she was abandoned but there was no trace of sadness in her tone or in her persona at all. It was as though she were the quintessence of happiness.

"Aren't you sad? At all?" he voiced out loud.

"Why should I be? If my past is a problem, my future can always solve it. I can't remember anything, so there's nothing to miss. The only thing I remember is my vision of you." She replied brightly. "So tell me about yourself. I told you everything there is to know about me."

"Where do I start?"

"The beginning is always a good place to start." Jasper chucked lightly.

And so he went on about his past. His childhood that only involved war and superiority. He told her everything, only he edited so that he wouldn't sound so monstrous to her. What if he scared her? He wanted to tell her everything, absolutely everything but there was a fear inside of him. If she knew the life he had been living for the past century; the lives lost, the families he had destroyed, the meaningless killing and sex that was his existence back in the south. Then the story about Maria.

"Was she beautiful?" That was the only time Alice interrupted him.

"Yes, in a way." He replied kindly. There was no way that Maria could ever compare to Alice, though. Alice didn't interrupt again; she just remained quiet, just as taken by his story as he was.

"I couldn't do it anymore. It was just too much. All those people I've killed. The husbands who would never see their wives again. The children who would never know their fathers. All because of me." He admitted while his cool tone broke. Alice's face was kind and understanding.

"Well you can change all of that. Starting now. You're going to come with me to go to the Cullens. You'll have a fresh start." She said, trying to cheer him up. She made him optimistic.

"I don't think I can." He said, a little reluctant.

"Yes, you can. I can see it." There was no putting Alice's hopes down.

And at that moment, it started to rain.

Both of them tilted their heads up at the sky and let the small raindrops touch their faces. The tide was getting higher and the winds sent them crashing all over. But the clouds didn't cover all of the sky. There were still some spots where the moonlight shone over them. The both of them were starting to get wet. Alice laughed and raised both her palms so that some raindrops would fall on them. She then looked at Jasper, beaming at him.

"Starting now." Alice stood up immediately and pulled him up so that he would stand too. He didn't look like he knew what he was doing. Alice ran a safe distance away from him, kicking the water upward and twirling around in the rain. Jasper just stood there awkwardly and watched her. Alice shook her head, giggled and then dragged him over for him to join her. She held his hand and ran off to the shallow water where she kicked and laughed and twirled and laughed some more. Jasper didn't look like he knew what he was doing. He looked like a grown man who had seen all the troubles of the world and there he was playing with the most innocent of children, a girl who had no problems and it was as though all the hope in the world had been contained in a single being… in her.

She was having fun, playing around without a care in the world and he just stood there, being dragged around by the happy little pixie. He looked as though he had forgotten how to have fun. She found his awkwardness endearing. He looked adorable; it was as though he was a very serious man who was playing with an energetic little girl.

The only sound that could be heard was the crashing of waves as it stumbled on the rocks, the soft roar of the wind and of course, her laughter. It was music to his ears. She reached up and put her hand on his shoulder and took his hand with her other hand. She led him to dance, a dance that no one else has seen before. She was so graceful, even though she was just playing around. He moved with her and within a few moments, he was the one leading the dance. It was like a combination of a waltz and a tango. And of course spinning. Lots and lots of spinning.

He kept her eyes locked on her eyes, and she was smiling. The serious line that formed on his lips slowly twitched into a small smile. He danced with her in the pouring rain and the waves touching their feet. And in the moonlight, she sparkled. The light from the moon made the dewdrops caught in her hair shimmered. She took his breath away, not that he needed it.

Alice was still smiling, she felt very safe in his arms. It felt right for her to be held by him like this. One of his hands at the small of her back and his other hand still intertwined in her other hand. She rested her head against his chest and took in his scent. It made her head spin. He felt so warm in her hands, warmer than she had ever felt before. If her heart could beat, it would have been beating so mercurially that it would go to the point that it was embarrassing. But she was too caught up in the dance to really care about anything at all.

He shuffled his feet with hers and marveled at her warmth. There was a light buzzing inside of him, something that made everything feel right. Like nothing could go wrong. Something he thought he felt before but now he knew he was mistaken. There was no denying what he felt now. There was no mistaking the feelings he had for the girl in his arms. It seemed so long ago but he knew that right then and there, it was more real than that other love.

Love.

He was in love with this girl in his arms, the girl who made him see the light for the first time in a century. He was intertwined with her in a way which was indescribable. She lifted her head from his chest, to look into his eyes. Both felt the same way. It was so cold without the other. How could they have survived without the other, they would never know. All she knew was that she was too caught up now. She was far too in love with him to ever let him go. They stared at each other's eyes for what felt like the longest of moments, cherishing it.

Slowly, not really knowing what he was doing, the ex-Confederate leaned forward and ever so gently brushed his lips against hers. Alice was surprised, which was not an easy thing to do, but she didn't want to pull away. Instead, her eyes fluttered to a close and she kissed him back. Somehow, she wrapped both her tiny arms around his neck, pulling him closer. The feeling of her responding to him was too much to bear. One of his hands was at the base of her jaw and the other was at the small of her back. She smiled into the kiss and so did he. It felt right, like it was meant to happen. He became more enthusiastic and lifted her off her feet. She giggled into the kiss and he chuckled at the sound of her laughter.

But it all ended when neither of them wanted it to be. Alice's arms unlocked around his neck and slowly, she pulled away from the kiss. Jasper set her down unwillingly, hoping that he didn't do anything wrong. There was nothing wrong with that kiss. Everything was completely right. It was perfect.

He looked at her and she was still smiling up at him. She took one of his hands and made him run across the waves again. She giggled and he was laughing, now. He was laughing for the first time in a long time. Like the human in him was somehow resurfacing. She let go of his hand and ran, gesturing for him to chase her, which he did.

They ran along the sea, laughing as they did. He captured her from behind and wrapped both of his arms around her waist and hoisted her up. She screamed, kicked and giggled as he spun both of them around and around and around, the water splashing everywhere. It was the most fun either of them have ever had. He set her down and waited for her to sober up. She looked up at him and smiled.

He leaned forward and rested his forehead on hers, his fingers knotting in her hair. He rubbed his nose against hers and she laughed, wrapping her arms around him again, still smiling.

"I love you, Alice." He whispered, wrapping her name in his tone like some kind of caress. She looked at him with gleeful eyes, the eyes that had captured his soul forever.

"I love you too." She whispered back as her eyes fluttered to a close.

He pulled her face toward him again in that moment. Everything was perfect. The rain and water was forgotten. There was only the two of them in their own little world. Everything was there in that perfect moment. And in the perfect moment, they shared the perfect kiss. Everything was right.

**AN:** Thank you, Jazzy and Rae, for helping me write this and giving me the muse for it. No one can play "Jasper" like you two can.


	5. Chapter 5: Reassurance

**A/N: **So I haven't written an actual chapter for this story in two years. I'm a little rusty. Read and review. I'm histrionic so praise is like food and oxygen to me. ;] Plus, the more reviews I get… the more energized I am to write. Anyway… ENJOY. I dedicate this chapter to Jecai, because she's super mega foxy awesome hot and she's the one who kept demanding for this chapter. xD :D

CHAPTER FIVE: REASSURANCE

The storm eventually passed by but Alice and Jasper remained on the beach, both of them dripping wet from the rain and playing by the high tide. They lay next to each other, their backs against the biggest rock. Jasper's eyes remained on Alice and he never looked away, nor did he want to. He could stare at her for the rest of eternity and he wouldn't get tired. Alice, however, had her head rested on his shoulders as she stared into the sunrise that was peeping through the clouds. Her face was calm, serene and blissful. But the most picturesque thing about the couple was the fact that their fingers were intertwined.

The rays of sunlight found its way to them soon enough, their skin sparkling like diamonds where the light touched them. Jasper sighed as he saw his own skin, the skin on his hand that was wrapped around her, sparkle. Alice's expression changed from bliss to concern within a millisecond.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said, trying to hide his slightly ill feelings. It was hard to have any ill feelings, especially when someone as happy and hopeful as Alice was around.

"Jasper," she said as she looked at him with her eyes stern and demanding. She knew he was hiding something, she could see it in his eyes. "Something's bothering you."

"Not-" he broke off when his eyes met hers. He couldn't lie to her, ever. How could he? Not with those eyes of hers. "The light."

"What about it?" she asked, curious yet concerned all the same.

"For years I had to be some intimidating vampiric war major… do you have any idea how hard it is to be intimidating when you sparkle like a princess's tiara whenever the sunlight touches you? Mind you, the wars were in the South and the sun was everywhere almost every single day."

Alice bit her lip, nodding, trying her hardest not to laugh. She tried to cover her mouth and her entire face with her hands but it didn't work. After a few muffled giggles and Jasper's eyebrows raised at her, she couldn't keep it in. She laughed such a loud and high-pitched laugh that he couldn't help but smile. Soon, he tried to bite his lip as well. A few muffled chuckles and then his laughter coincided with hers.

"What's so funny?" he asked, still chuckling and his smile still plastered on his lips. It seemed like sheer impossibility for him to frown, when the epitome of all things good in the world was right there in his arms.

"Princess's tiara?" she said, giggling in between her words.

"It was the first analogy that came to mind," he replied.

"So can I just melt you and fashion you into one so I can play princess for a day?"

"No… because you'll never be a princess, not even in your wildest fantasies."

Alice actually pouted at his words. What, was she not pretty enough? Or maybe he was stooping to some form of low and say that she wasn't _tall_ enough. He didn't look like the kind of person who would joke. Alice thought that, with almost a century of war, he had forgotten how.

"And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?" Jasper chuckled at her expression.

"You're too good for royalty, too heavenly, too… angelic," he explained. "You're an angel, darling… my angel."

And she smiled the smile that he adored so much. The sparkling skin on her just made her even more dazzling than she was before, as if such a feat was possible. Her brilliant smile was just captivating, her radiant honey gold eyes… he could get lost in those eyes and never look back, her laugh that tinkled like silver bells and when she moved, she really was an angel… his angel.

All was good and perfect in the world when, all of a sudden, Alice's eyes became distant and focused.

"Something wrong?" he asked her, distraught with the thought that there could be something in the world that was troubling her.

"Kentucky," she said as though she pulled the word right out of thin air.

"Fried Chicken?" To be completely honest, that was all Jasper knew about Kentucky. Alice giggled at his words. He was actually funny once one got past all the war scars and the serious expression in his eyes.

"No, silly. I saw them. They've relocated in Kentucky but they're only there for a few days. The weather will be too nice for the next few weeks after they've moved in but they don't know that. Then," she had another focused look in her eyes and paused. "Somewhere in Mississippi, I think. It's undecided. Maybe we can still catch up to them."

"Who?" he asked, completely dumbfounded to what she was talking about.

"The Cullens, who else? They're the family I was telling you about, remember?"

"Oh. Right. Should we get going, then?"

"Not dressed like this."

"What did you have in mind?"

And with that, Alice had a wicked gleam in her eyes and a smirk formed on her lips. Mischievous, as though she was planning some kind of attack or raid on enemies. At least that's what Jasper thought, he had been in war for so long, war-like expressions were all that he knew of. Alice was a completely different persona that he wasn't used to. She got up and dusted the sand off from her dress. She held out her hand for him to take, which he did, and she led the way. It was very early in the morning; the sun was only beginning to rise from the east, most humans would still be asleep.

They ran from the beach and went to the store that Alice had gone to previously. She remembered that, in her haste after meeting him, she left the bag of the clothing she had 'borrowed' from a store. She needed new clothes and so did he. The store was still closed, as usual. She observed that it didn't open until late morning. Breaking in was easy for her, it came naturally and he followed her. The store wasn't that much different from when Alice first went in. It seemed as though no one noticed the sudden depletion from her last visit or no one seemed to care that various articles of clothing were now missing from the racks. They wouldn't mind one more visit if they didn't mind the first.

Alice ransacked the racks of clothes and Jasper just watched. She was in her element amongst the clothes, her hands moved so swiftly and delicately through all of the fabric. She took some from the hangers and she hung the hooks on her arm, as though she were some kind of coat rack. She took some of everything: dresses, skirts, shirts and lots of other articles of clothing. Of course, she also got some for Jasper, although how she knew his size, he'll never figure out. Maybe she was just that good with clothes or she foresaw it and just knew. She took the clothes that she had gotten to a nearby table with some sewing materials. She worked in silence, her hands expertly moving through the fabric. A long tape measure was draped around her shoulders, although she only used it for small measurements. She just put it on for some kind of dramatic effect.

Jasper watched her as she worked. She looked like she knew exactly what she was doing. The store was completely silent except for the sound of scissors snipping through fabric and thread, the sound of thread interconnecting various pieces of cloth; neither of them were breathing, they didn't need to. It took her about five minutes to finish everything but when one had senses as keen as they had, it seemed a lot longer than that. Not that Jasper minded; he enjoyed watching her work. She seemed happy, like she was in a little world all her own.

"You're awfully quiet," she murmured, a smile on her face still, as she looked for bags that could accommodate the clothes she had taken and improved. He merely shrugged and grinned at her.

"What are you looking for? Maybe I can--" Alice cut him off. She had that same distant look in her eyes again, another vision. Jasper stiffened at the thought. What if she saw something terrible? But he was just being pessimistic; for Alice smiled the moment she shook her ahead, as if to regain vision of the real world again.

"There are a bunch of bags inside the storage closet over there," she pointed to a door a few meters from where he was standing. "Could you…?"

She did not need to continue for he had already gone to the door which she pointed at. She was right, of course. There were lots of bags in the storage room. It was kind of given. It _was_ a _storage_ room. But there were so many, he didn't know which ones to take.

"The two brown ones with the floral pattern on your immediate right and the black one with the silver handle right above it," she said, folding the clothes she improved neatly into one pile. He chuckled to himself. "_You'll get used to it, major. You'll get used to it," _he thought to himself. He picked up the bags, according to her instructions and brought them to her.

The clothes were all neatly pressed and folded when he brought her the bags. She worked mercurially, even by his standards. She must have really liked what she was doing and he could feel that. The contentment that emanated from her being made him almost just as giddy as her, as if her happiness was contagious, not that he minded: he hadn't been happy in the longest time, he was sure he had forgotten what happiness felt like. She changed all that.

She beamed at him when he brought the bags and proceeded to pack. Part of him wanted to help her out in one way or another but another part just told him to leave her with her own devices, she seemed to know what she was doing and he didn't have the slightest clue on how to pack anything neatly… or do anything neatly for that matter. He chose the latter and merely stood there, watching her as she worked.

When she was finished, he noticed that there were a few select garments still on the table even after she zipped all the bags. He chose not to ask about that, she would tell him anyway.

"Your clothes are really dirty," she explained, handing him a brown suit.

His eyes narrowed. He hadn't worn a suit in… he didn't know how long. He took them and went to change in one of the dressing rooms. It was a formal brown men's jacket, a long sleeved, white, cotton, button-down shirt and dark brown pants. The change of clothes was oddly refreshing, the only times that he changed was if he was feeding and some of the blood got on his clothes and he would _have_ to change. That reminded him, for the first time since he was with her… he remembered his thirst. The burn in his throat was evident now, somehow being with her made the fire diminish somewhat. Feeding was unimportant for him, he would feed and when she did.

When he finished, she was already changed into a beautiful black dress with a long, lavender colored trench coat. It was a very simple black dress; it balanced with her hair quite nicely. It cinched her waist and it just complemented her petite frame. It was a little ruffled beneath her waistline and reached her knees. The coat was about a quarter inch longer than her dress and for her feet, she wore, what looked like, ballerina shoes with almost the exact same color as her coat. She looked adorable.

"You clean up quite nicely," she said, grinning at him. He did. He looked quite dapper in his suit, as she knew he would. Everything fit him just right. He left the coat open and the shirt accentuated everything that needed emphasis… which was everything. The color brought out the gold in his messy hair and he just looked amazing. She looked away from him for only a moment to put on a thin headband, the same shade of lavender as her coat, on her head. She combed her hair straight and it framed her small face.

She tilted her head and brushed off her dress and coat as she looked in the mirror. He was standing behind her now and he wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. She leaned her head onto his, held his hands and smiled.

"Perfect," she whispered. He kissed her cheek and she closed her eyes. After a few seconds of their sheer bliss, she went into another trance. "The owner will be here in a few minutes, we'd better get going."

She cracked open the store's cash register and took some of the bills and coins and put them in her coat pocket. Jasper had the three bags that were packed with their new clothes in both hands. Alice disapproved with him carrying everything and he didn't want her to carry anything, afraid that the slightest weight would cause her discomfort. After a few seconds of arguing, he simply couldn't refuse her. One look and one raised eyebrow: he was putty in her hands. They compromised. He would carry the black bag and one of hers and she would roll the smallest one.

They left the store swiftly and went to the nearest train station. They purchased two tickets to Bath County, Kentucky, Alice hoping they would still catch them in the few short days that the Cullens were staying in that state. It was a few hundred miles from Philadelphia to Kentucky and with the luggage they had, they couldn't afford to run.

They had a small train cabin, they needed to be inconspicuous and a luxury sleeper car would attract too much attention. There were two seats in the cabin. Jasper preferred privacy and so they locked the doors, merely put their bags on the opposite chair. He was seated in the vacant chair, a little diagonally, with him leaning slightly on the windows and slightly on the seat cushion as well and Alice was seated on his lap, her head leaning on his chest as he wrapped one arm around her to cushion her. And in the silence, while the train set forth, Alice found herself staring at him again.

His untidy yet highly alluring honey blond hair, his battle scars evident everywhere on his skin, his coal black eyes... _his coal black eyes. _The smile disappeared from her lips and the shimmer from her eyes diminished.

"You didn't get to hunt. Oh my goodness, I'm sorry," she said quickly, raising a hand to touch his face. He closed his eyes and swallowed the venom that started to build up deep inside his throat. He took her hand away and kissed each finger slowly.

"Don't worry about it. I'd rather be with you than do anything else."

She smiled again, as he intended with his words and brushed his cheek with her thumb.

"There's Olympia State Forest in Bath County. We can go there right after the train stops."

"What about the Cullens?"

"Your thirst and your strength are more important."

The train moved along and they were quiet once again. Slow deep breaths made them aware of everything and everyone on the train. Jasper tried not to breath as much, the temptation was very strong, but he figured that he might as well get used to the idea. She closed her eyes and ducked her head in his chest. She tried to imagine some of the stories that he told her, about the human wars and the vampiric wars, while he was hummed in her ear, like he was trying to lull some small child to sleep. How could a man capable of such peace have lived a life filled with such hate and war?

"Jazzy?" she whispered, her head unmoving. He grinned and nuzzled her hair. He liked the sound of that name.

"Yes?" he crooned softly into her ear.

"Tell me more about Maria," she said so softly, a regular human would not have been able to comprehend what she said. Jasper chuckled. He could almost taste the emotion she was giving off: sincere curiosity with just a hint of jealousy.

"What do you want to know about her?"

"You said you wanted to leave her long ago, but you stayed with her for almost a century. Why did you stay with her? Because… well… you know, y-you could always go back," she hoped that she imagined her stutter. He shook his head and cupped her face in his free hand. He tilted her chin up and kissed her with such a passion, it was difficult to break away, but he had to if he wanted to explain.

"No. I'm not going back to her. Why would I, when I have you?"

"You didn't answer my question," she said, although she half smiled at his words.

"Maria had a… talent. She could make you do things she wanted you to do. It depends on how strong your will is. It was… difficult to leave. She didn't want me to, but I managed. She's not part of my existence anymore, darling. Don't worry about it."

"Did it hurt? To… to say no to her?"

"At times. Why the sudden curiosity about Maria, anyway?" he asked her, no anger in his tone but he was intrigued as to how she thought Maria could ever compare to her.

"It's just… well… I don't think I can handle it if you leave me. And… with h-her… if she found you… y-you could leave me, she could make you leave me."

"I won't, she's not that strong or convincing," he promised.

"You can't be sure of that," she didn't dare reveal her face.

She was right, of course. There was no way his words would be enough to convince her. Alice had the gift of premonition. She could see various possibilities and there was still the slim chance that Maria could get to him, if she found him weak or endangered Alice somehow… very slim chance. But there was still the chance. He held her tightly and silence enveloped the train once more. The silence was eerie. He could stay in silence for a long time but Alice couldn't stand it. She was a restless little thing and she couldn't simply sit there in stillness. She stirred in his arms, for some sort of noise, some sort of movement.

He couldn't stand not being able to comfort her. Someone who had given him so much hope and made him feel happy and almost human again and here she was, asking for reassurance, yet he could not give it to her. Unless…

"There is one way I can be sure. That you'd be mine and I'd be yours," he said as he broke the silence. He was still thinking about it, still contemplating. She couldn't have seen it, it was last minute. It would take her at least another minute before she spaced out into space and saw what was going to happen.

"How?" she asked.

A few more seconds of silence, a few more last minute thoughts as Jasper thought of every possibility that could occur to him. But there was no other conclusion. He wanted to kick himself for his blindness. It was right there. Her reassurance was right there.

He cupped her face in his hand again and gazed into her beautiful golden eyes. Right then and there, he knew exactly what to say. He knew that what he was doing was right.

"Marry me."


End file.
